CHAPTER 420: A new Ale

"We need your help!"

I looked up from my stew as Cassie and Skadi arrived at our table in the mess hall. Besides their food I saw four unmarked bottles on Cassie's tray.

"What do you need?" I asked.

"We need help with a proper name for Cassie's new beer." Skadi said.

"Really?" Helena asked. "I suspected you would just come up with something explosion related."

"The name can't be too silly since it will be served at the beer garden." Skadi replied.

"Oh? Did you find a location to open your beer garden?" I asked.

Cassie shook her head. "No. We decided we aren't opening one here, for now. We will have our own beer garden in my mother's duchy at some point but Skadi has made a deal with the beer garden here in Lupos."

"We like going there so instead of trying to compete I negotiated a deal." Skadi said. "We are going to sell them some beer and they will have it on tap on a few tables."

"Wow, that sounds like a great deal!" I said.

"It is!" Cassie said.

"But we need a name that doesn't sound too crazy." Skadi added.

"Is it the same one we tried when you first started brewing?" I asked.

"No, I have brought a few bottles from the latest batch." Cassie said and placed four bottles on the table. "I have refined the recipe and I am now using the barley from the Barkworth Duchy."

"And you are using alchemy." Skadi added.

"It's not going to explode, is it?" I asked.

"Only if you shake it a lot!" Cassie said while I was reaching for a bottle. I stopped and looked at her.

"She means the bubbles. Like any beer, if you shake it before opening it will spill." Skadi explained.

"Oh." I replied, while Helena opened a bottle and gave it a sniff, then she took a sip.

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"Ah, you are going for a golden ale?" Helena asked.

Cassie nodded. "I found some good yeast and now I am going for an ale. Fermenting at a higher temperature is more convenient and I have found a great way to improve the quality with some alchemy. My potion is added together with the yeast and it adds just a bit of bitterness."

I tried the ale as well. "I like it! It's still rather crisp and refreshing and will be even better in summer."

"So, what have you added? Is it going to be more expensive, since you are using alchemy?" Helena asked.

"It's not a problem since you only need a little bit for each batch. I can easily supply the brewery and I don't need to be there when it's added. The ingredients aren't very expensive either, it just takes a bit of mana to brew. Also, it's technically a joint brewing…" Cassie said.

"What's a joint brewing?" I asked.

"Shouldn't you know? You took alchemy in the first year." Helena said.

"Well, I just remember that you mix the ingredients which create a natural spellform and then you have to match that in your mind." I said. "Mostly you use neutral mana and get elemental options through the ingredients. It's not too bad if you have a recipe, however even with them it takes some practice to empower the spellform the right way. Cassie is talented enough that she figures out new combinations and what spellform they create. I am not sure where a joint casting would come in, I can't imagine that Cassie needed more mana for a potion to enhance her ale."

"Yeah, the problem is that the same ingredient isn't always the same." Cassie said. "If you have a bunch of apples they won't all taste the same, even if they are the same type of apple. In alchemy you need to adjust your spellform for that and you need to get a feel for it, otherwise you need either more mana, or get a less potent result. That's why a good alchemist can make a better potion with the same ingredients and the same recipe, they can feel where the spell needs some minor adjustments!"

"Ok, none of that explains your joint brewing." Helena said.

"Right. So Kasai has been helping me with my alchemy and at first she simply heated things, or cooked things, and I handled the actual brewing. But at some point she started trying to brew herself some treats…"

"Meow!" Nyx sounded shocked.

"Meow." Kasai sounded smug.

"Anyway, so she was trying to create something for herself to eat, or more like drink, and it exploded a bit. That's when I knew I had to teach her." Cassie said.

"Of course it exploded…" I muttered.

Cassie ignored me and continued: "I found out that she can breathe fire into the liquid itself and it changes the natural spell formula a bit! That way we are tweaking the recipe on two sides. She changes the natural formula, almost like her breath is an ingredient, and I can adjust my own spellform and we get a great result! Our beer potion only uses some local herbs, some lemons and a tiny drop of frost venom. Kasai's breath and the venom work really well together. It makes the beer crisper, adds a bit more bitterness and surprisingly the beer doesn't get warm as quickly as others once it has been chilled."

I looked at the bottle.

"The beer has been properly registered and has been tested by a healer to ensure it's safe for everyone." Skadi said.

"So the way you brew this is, Kasai sits next to your cauldron and breathes fire into the pot while you do your magic?" Helena asked.

"She sits on a small stool so she can breathe into the pot. She still helps with heating things too but for some potions her breath is genius! Skadi has stopped me from trying too many exploding potions. She insists that I should teach Kasai a bit more first…" Cassie said.

"Meow!" Nyx said, while her paw was tapping on the table. Yoru sat next to her, staring at Kasai. Ivy was suspiciously silent.

"I think Nyx wants to know more about the liquid treats." Garm said.

"Oh, right. She is working on something you can dip bones into before she devours them but it's a work in progress."

"We got sidetracked, we still need a name for that beer." Skadi said.

"Fire Cat Brew." Rose suggested.

"Hm…" Cassie pondered that.

Meanwhile I looked at Kasai, who sat on the table and started grooming herself. I had known that she had been helping Cassie with alchemy but I had underestimated to what extent. I felt really proud of her!

"I like the name." Skadi said.

"Ok, we are going with Fire Cat Brew!" Cassie decided. "Cheers!"

We clinked our bottles and I gave the cats some small bones as treats. I was looking forward to visiting the beer garden with my friends and enjoying Cassie's ale on a nice sunny day!